KEYS TO THE SERIESAlex Ovechkin
The Rangers finished the regular season 10-3-1, moving from a non-playoff spot up to sixth. They are peaking at the right time and Rick Nash looks ready to do some postseason damage. But no one is capable of impacting a series like Ovechkin, who carried the Caps into the playoffs by scoring 19 goals over the final 19 games. He led the NHL with 32 goals and may just be unstoppable. With defenseman Mike Green and Ovechkin, that’s a power play to be feared.

X-FACTORThe Rangers’ defense corps
Is it possible Henrik Lundqvist had only two shutouts all season? He has the good fortune of playing behind Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman, who are somehow underrated despite playing in NYC. Too bad Marc Staal is injured or this could be a Stanley Cup D corps.

OUR TAKERangers in 6
They needed seven games and home ice to overcome Washington in last year’s conference semifinals. The Rangers can’t let it go seven this year because the Caps have home ice.

KEY TO THE SERIESA clean bill of health for the Penguins
Despite stumbling a bit down the stretch, the Penguins showed they can win even without Sidney Crosby. The game’s top forward is on the verge of returning from a fractured jaw while Evgeni Malkin, Paul Martin and James Neal are all once again healthy. When Crosby returns, he should center a line with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. Until he’s ready, it would be a Kunitz-Malkin-Jarome Iginla top line. If the Pens play up to form, good luck to anyone standing in their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

X-FACTOREvgeni Nabokov
The 37-year-old goalie has 80 games of playoff experience with the San Jose Sharks and the Islanders don’t stand a chance unless he excels. Billy Smith stopped a powerful Edmonton Oilers team in the playoffs more than 40 years ago, but he had a much more talented supporting cast. And Nabokov is no Billy Smith.

OUR TAKEPenguins in 6
The Islanders haven’t won a playoff series since the 1993 conference finals. John Tavares will make them competitive, but they can’t match up against this Pittsburgh team. The Isles’ first appearance in the playoffs since 2007 figures to be a cameo.

SEASON SERIESSplit. Each team had one regulation win and one shootout win
KEY TO THE SERIESErik Karlsson
Almost no one expected the Norris Trophy winner would come back after missing 10 weeks following surgery for a severed Achilles tendon. Ottawa is still missing top center Jason Spezza, out since Jan. 27 with back problems, but Karlsson’s return on defense could change everything in this matchup.

X-FACTORCarey Price
While the Senators have Craig Anderson and his league-leading 1.69 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, Price is a major question mark in goal for the Canadiens. He played poorly down the stretch and has an 8-15 career playoff record.

OUR TAKECanadiens in 7
A Montreal-Toronto matchup would have been crazier, but these two cities are 90 minutes apart by car. P.K. Subban, the Habs’ force on defense, and the enthusiasm of rookies Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk will win out.

KEY TO THE SERIESGoalie experience
Tim Thomas took the Bruins to the Cup in 2011. Tuukka Rask, a Vezina Trophy contender, played 13 games for Boston in the 2010 postseason and he can draw from that experience. Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer has no Stanley Cup experience. In fact, his last postseason experience was in 2009 for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

X-FACTORJaromir Jagr
He doesn’t have to be the force he was while winning two Cups with Pittsburgh at the start of his career. Not with Milan Luci, Tyler Seguin, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. But Jagr’s leadership will help and he scored nine points in his 11 games for the Bruins.

OUR TAKEBruins in 7
Two stud defensemen go head-to-head in Zdeno Chara and Dion Phaneuf. Toronto’s Nazem Kadri gets to be in the spotlight and New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk has never played an NHL season without being in the playoffs. Boston dropped to fourth in the standings, but will rebound.